Pallets, typically formed of wood, are used routinely in the storage, transportation and lifting of heavy equipment or cartons. The wooden pallets serve to support the bottom of the equipment or load to be lifted or moved while the equipment is stored in a warehouse or similar location or while the equipment is in transit from one location to another.
When the equipment is lifted, typically by a mechanism such as a hydraulic lift truck or "forklift," the pallet comes in contact with the forks of the lift truck preventing excessive damage to the equipment stored on the pallet. For extra safety, equipment may be fastened by ropes, bands or other similar connectors to a pallet to avoid the equipment falling while being lifted or moved.
Equipment is typically removed from a pallet by workers who either move the equipment by hand, or who attempt to maneuver the equipment onto a hand truck. Both of these methods require heavy lifting by the workers. Alternatively, the workers can attempt to use ramps which rest against the edge of the pallet to more easily remove the equipment from the pallet. Individual ramps are not always available at a job site when needed and are not typically sized to smoothly match up with the top surface of the pallet such that the equipment is not jostled in some manner. Smooth removal of heavy equipment absent significant vibration is particularly important in the transportation and unloading of heavy, sensitive electronic equipment and office machinery such as computers, copy machines, laser printers and the like.
To make ramps more convenient, there have been prior art attempts to make a pallet having removable or retractable ramps which can be extended only when needed. One such attempt is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,084 in which a pallet is made which includes removable ramps that are stored on the top of the pallet below the equipment being transported during transit. To unload, the heavy equipment must be still be manually lifted to remove supporting planks beneath the equipment and to slide out the ramps. The use of this pallet still requires heavy lifting from the workers. In addition, the storage of the heavy equipment on top of the ramps renders the ramps more easily subjected to damage from the weight of the equipment and/or accidents occurring during transit or storage of the pallet and equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,936,985 discloses a pallet which has hinged side ramps that pivot down for unloading of equipment stored on the pallet. In transit, the ramps are folded up against the side of the equipment. These ramp sections are still vulnerable to damage during transit and storage. In addition, the ramps, which may rest against the equipment, are capable of subjecting portions of sensitive equipment contacting the folding ramps to damage and/or vibration. As the pallet may, in many cases, be larger than the equipment loaded on the pallet, the ramps when folded upwardly may extend outward from the equipment presenting a potential for injury to workers passing by and/or handling the equipment.
Therefore, a need exists in the art for an economical pallet which adequately supports equipment particularly heavy, sensitive equipment, during storage and while in transit, and which includes convenient, hidden ramps within the pallet that are protected from damage during storage, transit and lifting operations and which are removable to provide a smooth surface in conjunction with the pallet for unloading of equipment with minimal vibration and/or manual lifting.